# How long between puffs?



## jminsi (Nov 11, 2010)

I know when smoking a cigar, a lot of people have recommended about 1 minute between puffs. How long between them when smoking a pipe? I'm sure it's a lot quicker than that and was just wondering because my pipe has a tendency to get very hot.


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## Beebo (Apr 15, 2012)

jminsi said:


> I know when smoking a cigar, a lot of people have recommended about 1 minute between puffs. How long between them when smoking a pipe? I'm sure it's a lot quicker than that and was just wondering because my pipe has a tendency to get very hot.


For me it really depends on the type of tobacco, how it's packed, and the type of pipe I am smoking it in. Also I have a pipe or two that get very hot no matter how long I wait to puff. I'll pass along the advice that was given to me a long time ago when I started my piping. Find your comfort zone. Don't worry so much about your pacing, just go with what works for you. Don't sweat the relights. After all the goal of smoking a pipe is to relax and enjoy yourself, and you can't very well enjoy it if you're worried about "messing up".

Now to give you a baseline-ish type answer for your question. 
for flake tobacco rubbed out or folded I tend to puff a bit more more frequently, lets say around every 20-35 seconds. 
ribbon cut tobacco If it's packed tight I puff a bit slower, lets say every 45-50 seconds, if It's packed looser then I sometimes go a minute or minute and a half between Puffs, if I get a good cookie coal lit on the top.

You of course have to figure in moisture level of said tobacco: Dryer baccy you can puff on a bit slower, moister baccy you'll have to puff a bit quicker. Along those lines of figuring in is bowl size. I find that just me in my habits I tend to puff smaller bowls a bit slower, and my large and extra large bowls a bit faster. 
I hope my answer gives you a little bit of help, but the most important thing I can tell you is to find what works for you, puff faster, puff slower, if your pipe gets too hot for you, let it rest. Eventually you will develop a technique that you really enjoy, which works for you, and your purpose.


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## WyoBob (Mar 6, 2007)

Good advice from Josh. "Eventually you will develop a technique that you really enjoy, which works for you, and your purpose." pretty well sums it up.

I tend to be a "sipper" (lots of small puffs) with the va/vapers (LNF, HOTW and Old Gowrie) I smoke in my natural cobs. With the correct dryness, loading and starting burn, I have very few touch ups and no relights from top to bottom. The bowl never gets hot, there's no tongue bite and the tobacco burns completely.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Beebo said:


> After all the goal of smoking a pipe is to relax and enjoy yourself, and you can't very well enjoy it if you're worried about "messing up".
> ...Eventually you will develop a technique that you really enjoy, which works for you, and your purpose.


:tu


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## mikebjrtx (May 21, 2012)

I like to take very slow puffs. I say puff because I like to fill my mouth, but the pacing is more like sipping. I like trying to take 15-20 seconds to fill my mouth and let the smoke move all around my tongue and the roof of my mouth. I then hold my breath as I slowly push the smoke out of my mouth. I dont blow it out because I like the smoke to drift up and enter my nose. I dont retrohale very often because the strong smoke overpowers my nose and keeps me from picking out a lot of the aromas. I take my next puff based on how hot it's burning and the tobacco I'm enjoying. If the smoke is sweet cool and creamy I will probably take another puff immediately. If the smoke is hot, bitey or even makes my tongue start tingling I slow down. If I can't keep it lit at my pacing I will set the pipe down with a pipecleaner inserted in the shank and let it rest for an hour to cool and dry the tobacco. Every once in a while I get a burn where I can feel the smoke pushing itself into my mouth. when this happens I like to lower and turn the bowl upside down, and let the draft set the pace. I usualy get better flavor from this than all my efforts. the sweet cool creamy smoke will fill your mouth and drift up past your nose as you just relax and enjoy, just be sure to leave your lips open enough to not restrict the draft. I sometimes get several relaxing minutes of smoking bliss this way.


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## mikebjrtx (May 21, 2012)

View attachment 68739


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

jminsi said:


> I know when smoking a cigar, a lot of people have recommended about 1 minute between puffs. How long between them when smoking a pipe? I'm sure it's a lot quicker than that and was just wondering because my pipe has a tendency to get very hot.


The reason your "pipe has a tendency to get very hot" is because you're "sure it's a lot quicker than that". And I say this as one who also has the tendency to 'over puff'. One day I'll notice my favorite Virginias don't seem to have the complexity they once did, then a week later I notice my pipe is getting hot, and then finally it dawns on me that I need to slow down. I'm hoping that some day I'll internalize that lesson, but I'm still waiting.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

To tilt the question onto a slightly different axis, I'm not sure that the frequency of puffing is as important as the duration. If it takes you a longer time to take a puff (as Mike suggests), the pace slows perforce, along with the intensity of the draw. Think of getting a fire relighted by putting squaw wood on live coals and blowing on it. One doesn't get the ember glowing and the wood lit with shallow little puffs, and blowing too hard doesn't work either. The best way is to blow long, gently and steadily. The ember in the pipe behaves the same.

I would also suggest clenching. http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/312148-exhaling-through-stem.html.


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